Helium Ion Microscopy: a New Technique for Semiconductor Metrology and Nanotechnology

摘要: The Helium Ion Microscope (HIM) offers a new, potentially disruptive technique for nano‐metrology. This methodology presents an approach to measurements nanotechnology and nano‐manufacturing which has several potential advantages over the traditional scanning electron microscope (SEM) currently in use integrated circuit research manufacturing facilities across world. Due very small, essentially one atom size, high brightness source, shorter wavelength of helium ions, it is theoretically possible focus ion beam into smaller probe size relative that current SEMs. Hence higher resolution achievable. In contrast SEM, when interacts with sample, generates significantly excitation volume thus image collected more surface sensitive. Similarly HIM also produces topographic, material, crystallographic, contrast, ways investigating new properties sample through various detectors. Compared secondary yield quite high, allowing imaging at low currents, resulting less damage. Additionally, due their mass, ions themselves do not alter would be common, example, gallium are regularly used milling. paper reports on some preliminary work being done NIST exploration as measurement tool